For the Birds
by Pretty in Scarlet
Summary: Rewritten, slash. After a violent encounter with Slade, the Titans are forced to watch Robin slowly become the thing he hates most. Teaser for chapter three up!
1. Violated

**For the Birds**

**Summary: **(Rewritten, slash) After a violent encounter with Slade, the Titans are forced to watch Robin slowly become the thing he hates most. Will he recover or leave the team?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Teen Titans or the characters.

**Warning(s): **Slash, self-mutilation, character death

**A/N: **I wrote the original For the Birds about a year ago, reread it and realized it sucks last week, and decided to take it down today…and also rewrite the damn thing. The beginning of this chapter takes place a week or so after _Masks_ and ends with the aftermath of _The Apprentice_. This is hardly even the same story, but it's still similar to the original. In a good way, though, seriously!

**---Chapter One: Violated**

_Who is Slade?_

Isn't it amazing how one simple question can lead to much pain?

Robin threw a punch at Slade, who caught the fist and gripped it until the bones started to crack. He kicked the Boy Wonder and sent him flying into a wall on the other side of the warehouse. The smaller fighter quickly sprang to his feet and lunged forward to attack, but only succeeded into getting hurled into one of the building's steel support beams. They had been fighting for a least an hour and Robin was starting to get tired. His endurance just wasn't as strong as Slade's.

"Getting tired, my little bird?" Slade grabbed him and hauled him to his feet. "Pity."

"Don't call me that," Robin spat.

"I must admit I'm surprised your friends haven't interfered yet." The masked man bent down so his face was merely inches away from Robin's. "Not that I'm complaining…"

"What is wrong with you?" A sudden hard shove took Slade by surprise and he let the boy go. "You've been acting different…and you're holding back."

"So are you." The visible eye narrowed. "And don't try to tell me you're trying to make it a fair fight."

"It's never going to be a fair fight!" Robin cringed. He hadn't meant to let that slip.

There was an awkward moment of silence before a starbolt shot out of the darkness and nearly nailed Slade in the back. Seeing an opening, Robin ran at him and jabbed a bird-a-rang into his shoulder. He groaned in frustration when sparks flew out of the injury. It was another android. Damn it, they were always androids!

"Friend Robin, are you damaged in any sort of way?" Starfire asked, floating over to him.

"No, just angry. It wasn't really him…again."

"Do not fret. We will defeat the Slade eventually!" She smiled.

Her smiles cheered him up so many times before, but it did nothing now. Robin didn't want to cheer up. What he _wanted_ to do was hide in his room and mope until he thought of another way to discover the truth about Slade. Sighing, he forced confidence into his voice as he agreed with her. He gestured with his head for her to follow him out of the warehouse.

"Where were you guys?"

"Please do not be upset with us for not arriving sooner. As soon as you left to find Slade, we received word of several H.I.V.E. students causing trouble downtown," Starfire explained.

Robin nodded. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help."

"Do not be. We know how much catching Slade means to you."

_Trust me, Starfire,_ he thought as he walked over to his motorcycle. _No you don't._

**---**

Weeks had passed before Slade appeared again and Robin found himself facing the sociopath alone. The other Titans had their hands full with Cinderblock _and_ Overload. Not that Robin minded; he preferred to fight Slade alone, mostly because he didn't want his friends to get hurt, but also because he wanted to be the one to defeat him.

"Hello, Robin. It's been awhile. Did you miss me?"

Robin growled, silently horrified that he wanted to say yes. He tried to punch Slade, but the man grabbed his arm and pulled him close.

"Because _I_ missed _you_," he purred.

"You set this up, didn't you?" Robin narrowed his eyes. "Cinderblock and Overload are just distractions."

"Exactly. You catch on quick, my little bird."

Crying out in anger, Robin pushed him and their fight began. Once again, he noticed that both of them were holding back. He had his reasons for doing so, but what about Slade? Slade suddenly punched him in the stomach and swiftly injected something into his arm while he was down. Robin's vision blurred a little, both from pain and the drug. He felt nauseous, and everything started to spin.

"What…did you…?"

"Relax," Slade whispered, pulling the syringe out of the boy's arm as he knelt beside him. He reached up to remove his mask, but at this point the drug had taken full effect on Robin and he couldn't see.

His blind eyes widened when Slade's lips met his.

**---**

"_Robin, you taste delicious."_

Robin's eyes slipped shut as he trailed the knife across his wrist. The cut was deep enough to break the skin, but too shallow to kill him. Death seemed welcoming, but it wasn't what he wanted. Killing himself would be selfish. He couldn't abandon his friends and Jump City. If he died now, Slade wouldn't hesitate to kill the other Titans.

"_You're mine now, Robin. You may escape me and go back to your little friends, but you'll still be **mine**."_

He had regained consciousness back at the Tower. Cyborg had found him in the warehouse while the others were taking Cinderblock and Overload to prison. Fortunately, Slade hadn't left any evidence of what he had done. Robin was able to tell the Titans that he had been knocked out and Slade left soon after.

"_You're much too tense. Relax…or this is going to hurt more than has to."_

"Damn you, Slade," Robin hissed, tossing the knife aside.

He sank to his knees and buried his face into his hands.

"_Robin, come here. Now."_

His head shot up and he angrily clenched his teeth. That wasn't a memory.

He climbed to his feet and quickly pulled the top half of his uniform back on. The last thing he wanted was for Slade to find out what he had been doing. He would never hear the end of it.

"What?" he asked when the masked man came in sight.

"My apprentice…" Slade paused a moment, savoring the sound of his words. "Come closer, my dear boy."

Robin forced himself to walk over to his side. He glanced at the older man's hands, checking for either the detonator-like device or a syringe. He found Slade's hand were empty.

"S-_Master_ Slade? What do you want…?"

"It's been much too long," the man nearly sighed. He touched Robin's shoulders. "Must you always be so tense?"

"You're not going to…"

"Hm? Do what?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Oh, but I'm afraid I don't. Enlighten me."

He was holding that detonator now. _Damn you, Slade!_

"Rape me?"

"_Rape_?" Slade chuckled. "My dear apprentice, it was hardly rape."

"The hell it wasn't!"

Slade's thumb teasingly ran over the little red button.

"I didn't hear you complaining. If I recall correctly, and I assure you I do, you enjoyed it."

Robin growled. "Just…just answer me."

"No denial?" He could hear the smirk in the masked man's voice. "That _was_ my intention, actually."

"What? No! I won't let…" His voice trailed off when Slade's eye narrowed and he held the detonator out. "No, please, _don't_!"

"Cooperate and I'll spare your pathetic friends. Refuse me…and they die."

_Damn you, Slade._

**---**

After Slade had finished, Robin stumbled back to his room and picked up his discarded knife. He didn't wince when the blade bit into his arms and tore through his flesh. He didn't care that he had cut deeper than he meant to. His blood ran down his arms as he fell back onto the floor, his eyes teary with pain and humiliation.

That was basically how Starfire found him a few weeks later, covered in cuts and fading from consciousness. She scooped him into her arms and sobbed, her screams quickly alerting the other Titans that something was wrong. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven stood in the doorway of Robin's bedroom, their eyes filled with horror.

But there are no words to describe what they felt when Starfire whispered, "He is not breathing."

**---**

**A/N: **Um…please review?


	2. Confused

**For the Birds**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Teen Titans or the characters.

**Warnings: **Self-mutilation, mentioned rape, language

**A/N: **For future reference, I promise there won't be any random couples. Thank you to everyone who reviewed.

**---Chapter Two: Confused**

_Why? _

Isn't it amazing how one word can become such a complex question?

Tears streamed down Starfire's cheeks as she watched Robin. It broke her heart to see him this way. His skin was almost as pale as Raven's. Several wires and tubes were connecting his arms to devices Starfire didn't recognize. A clear, plastic mask covered the lower half of the Boy Wonder's face to help him breathe. The rise and fall of Robin's chest and the beeping machine that was monitoring his heartbeat were the alien's only comfort. These things reminded her that he was alive.

"The fact that Robin harmed himself is not what upsets me most," she whispered, not looking at Cyborg. "Though such a thing is strange to me, I am more concerned about _why_ he has done this."

"I wish I could tell you, Star," Cyborg shook his head. "I guess this means you've never seen a suicide attempt before?"

"Not on Tamaran, no, but Raven and I once encountered a woman who tried to jump from the roof of a building."

Cyborg glanced at Robin. "He's recovering okay."

"Robin is strong. I do not doubt he will be fine physically, but…" A fresh stream of tears made their way down her beautiful face. "What if something is wrong…_mentally_?"

"You mean what if he's crazy?"

Starfire cringed slightly, but nodded nonetheless. She neatly folded her hands into her lap and went back to watching Robin, silently praying that he would open his masked eyes soon. She knew he probably wouldn't tell them anything right away…the boy had a bad habit of bottling things up until it all exploded into fiery rage. But still, she wanted nothing more than to see him stir and tell her everything would be all right. She needs to hear him say this, because she knew he wouldn't lie to her.

…At least, he wouldn't lie to her again.

_Red X._

The named angered and saddened Starfire at the same time. It hurt her to think that Robin hadn't trusted them, but knowing that Slade caused him such torment…now that _really_ made her mad.

"You should get some sleep, Star."

"I do not wish to leave him."

"Will you at least let me set up one of the other beds next to it? You can stay by him and still get some shuteye."

"Yes, thank you."

Cyborg moved one of the beds closer to Robin and gave Starfire a stern look that left no room for arguments. She hopped into it and lay down on her side so she still had a view of her injured friend.

"Night."

"Goodnight," she yawned, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

**---**

"I have a good idea of what happened." Cyborg paused, unsure if he wanted to continue or not. "Most of the blood he lost was from the cut on his left arm, but…"

"Slade raped him, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

Darkness suddenly swallowed Raven's mug and it exploded, spraying glass and tea all over the table. Cyborg almost thought he saw her eyes glow red for a second, but they returned to their natural colour before he could take a closer look. There was an awkward moment of silence before the half demon muttered a soft, "Sorry."

"Don't be."

"Starfire and Beast Boy don't know."

"No, they don't," he sighed heavily. "I'm not going to say anything. If Robin wants them to find out, he'll tell them himself."

Raven nodded and stood up. "I should mediate before I hurt someone."

"Go ahead. I'll clean this up."

She quickly left the room, leaving the other Titan to throw away the glass shards and wipe up the tea. He didn't mind; he knew how dangerous Raven was when she lost her temper.

"Sick bastard," Cyborg grumbled under his breath. "How could you do that to him?"

He checked to make sure the security system was on before turning off the lights and going to bed.

**---**

**A/N: **I'm sorry this chapter is so short. This would have been longer, but I was afraid I'd end up rushing things. I'm trying really hard to make this better than the original. I've been busy with school and homework, so it's probably going to be about another week or so before I update. My apologies for the wait.


	3. Teaser

For the Birds 

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Teen Titans or the characters.

**A/N: **This is not the actual chapter obviously. It's beenover threemonths, and I figured I could post what I have to give you something to read. I just really wanted to upload something so you wouldn't think this is dead. Don't worry…the rest of the chapter will be up soon. I'm not going to abandon this story.

Also...I need to askyour opinions on something: I'm not really good at keeping this guys in character...how do you think theTitans are going to treat Robin now?

**---Teaser**

Slade sat still, ignoring the tea beside him and the monitors in front. He was close to losing his temper, and yet he managed to remain surprisingly calm despite his building annoyance. But then, of course, this was _Slade_. He was beyond having silly little tantrums because something that belonged to him was taken away. Ah, yes, Robin was _his_ and his alone. The other Titans would never understand -never _know_- the boy like he did. They were nothing like him, but Slade was.

The boy would eventually admit it; there was no way to avoid it.

Sighing through his nose, the masked man stood and crossed the room to the monitors. It had been about a week since these very screens had displayed the Titans and the probes inside them, and since his apprentice managed to slip away. He hadn't _escaped_…Slade had let him go. It would have been easy enough to wait until his friends died before deactivating the probes, but Slade didn't want to risk Robin's life. He wasn't about to lose the boy, even if it meant sparing the Teen Titans.

"_New deal, Slade. I lose my friends my friends, you lose your apprentice. And I know how much you hate to lose."_

Silly Robin. Assuming this was about losing a mere _apprentice_. Oh, no, it had been about much than that.

Point taken; Slade hated to lose. But it hadn't about _losing_ as opposed to _winning_. It had been about losing Robin, and that was something he couldn't afford to do.


End file.
